Is William just too popular?

I adore the name Will. William is a family name for both sides of the family and one we actually agree on. The catch is that it's the #3 most popular name for boys! We struggled with a girl's name and finally decided on Sofia for our daughter. We love it but that is also a popular one, and so I'm debating about having two very popular names for our kids. Is it a big deal? Do you hear a lot of Wills out there? (I don't.... but Liams appear to be everywhere).

Would love to hear your thoughts on whether we should go with it or pick another. Thanks!

I also adore Will and have this name on both sides (my maternal grandfather, my mom's brother, my father, my brother). We call my brother Billy (totally suits even though he's in his late 20s) and I have always loved Will. I couldn't use it, in case my brother wants to keep passing it along.

Honestly, I don't think it will ever get too popular to use. I'm in Canada and I don't hear it frequently, and when I do, I swoon. I say go for it. I love it!!!!

One of the things about popularity is that the chart toppers of today's Top 100 lists aren't being used by as high a portion of the population as the highest ranked names a few decades ago. (All the parents for whom popularity is a problem name their kids something else, reducing the number of overall kids named #1-10 names.)

William is a classic; it'll never be trendy or dated, so it's not like you're obliviously hopping on the "-ayden" bandwagon. BothWilliam and Sofia made it to the top because they're awesome, lovely names!

If you LOVE and agree on a name, esp. one with significance, and it happens to be at the top, it's really up to you whether you are bothered too much by the possibility of your son being Will M. now and then. Some Berries hate that; others aren't perturbed. Most f us tend to fall into the do-what-you-love camp, though, so I say if you feel like it's The One, stick with it

I know a few people (20's - 30's) named Will/William/Willie and one baby born last year named William. If you're in the states, have you looked at the statistics for your state through the social security webpage? Sometimes the name is more popular in one state than another. For instance, Molly is on the top 100 overall in the US but here in Texas it's not even on the top 100 list in the last 5 years.